New heritage tree in central Quang Ngai

A 300-year-old banyan in Nghia Hanh district of central Quang Ngai province has been recognised as a Vietnam Heritage Tree, the second granted with the title in the locality.

A ceremony was held on April 15 to mark the event.

The tree, which is 25 meters in height and 20 meters in diameter was planted at the Lam Son communal house before King Le Hien Tong’s reign (1740-1786).

According to village elderly, surviving wars and natural calamities through decades, especially the fierce storms in 1910 and 1944, the banyan has developed well thanks to the villagers’ care.

The Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) launched a programme to conserve Vietnam Heritage Trees in 2011.

To win the honour, the trees must be at least 200 years old in the case of wild trees, and at least 100 years for those planted. Moreover, the trees should be connected with historical and cultural characteristics of the area where they grow.

Others, which do not meet the aforesaid criteria yet have special values in science, history or culture, will be recognised as heritage.

Nearly 500 trees have been named Vietnam Heritage Tree so far.-

HCM City promotes reading

A "Reading Day" is scheduled for April 19 in HCM City to promote, especially among young people, the habit of reading books.

At the five-day event at the city's Youth Cultural House, 14 major publishers and distributors, including Tre (Youth) Publishing House, Tong Hop (General) Publishing House and the HCM City Book Distribution Company (FAHASA) will provide their latest books for free for visitors to read.

There will be discussions on reading habits and skills featuring speakers such as journalist Ba Nha and writers Le Quang Minh and Nhat Chieu.

In addition, talk shows will be held, as well as an exhibition of books about the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands and the military victory over the French – the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

At the event, the HCM City Youth Union will conduct a one-year survey to discover the top 100 books that young people like best.

Le Thai Hy, director of the city's Department of Information and Communications, said the event would be the first in a series of activities to develop the reading habit.

Summer book fair held at museum

Some 4,500 books will be launched at a summer book fair at the Women Museum in downtown Ha Noi later this week.

The books cover various topics, including politics, history, literature and economics, as well as topics related to foreign languages, sciences and housework tips.

The fair will launch a movement to collect books for Women and the Family Bookshelf for the benefit of women living in remote regions.

The public will get the chance to meet noted authors and translators such as Do Bich Thuy, Nguyen Bich Lan and Phong Diep.

At the fair, in addition to promoting the sale of books at prices between VND5,000 and VND35,000 per copy, sales discounts between 20 and 50 per cent will be offered for all titles.

Various games and talk shows will be conducted at the fair, including a workshop for parents titled "We Are Friends, My Children," at 2.30pm, April 19.

The fair, which has been co-organised by the Viet Nam Women Museum, Women Publishing House and Kim Dong Publishing House, is being held to promote Viet Nam's Book Day (April 21) and the World Book and Copyright Day (April 23).

The fair is open to the public between 8am and 9pm, April 16 – 20, at Viet Nam Women Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street. —

Beauty of Ao Dai shines at Hue Festival

The elegance and beauty of Vietnamese women garbed in the nation’s traditional long dress (Ao Dai) was featured at a fashion show on April 14 as part of the 2014 Hue Festival.

The graceful show left deep impressions on audiences as 100 models took to the stage to present 600 Ao Dai designs.

With the theme “The world in Vietnam’s Ao Dai”, the event aimed to send a message of friendship and sustainability to international friends.

Using their own creativeness, Ao Dai designers created beautiful images of Vietnamese traditional costume and showed aesthetic value of Vietnamese people.

2014 Hue Festival attracts numerous tourists

More than 97,000 domestic and foreign holiday-makers have flocked to the central province of Thua Thien-Hue for the Hue Festival 2014 with 48% of them foreigners.

The information was revealed by Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ngo Hoa at a press conference on April 15.

Preliminary statistics showed that citizens from as many as 103 countries travelled to the festival, of which the number of French tourists accounted for the highest rate with 7,263 people, followed by Thai with 6,271.

A wide range of community culture activities, fairs and exhibitions are being held everywhere in the locality.

From April 15-18, the festival will continue with events such as a “Royal Palace Night”, another programme to honour Hue’s UNESCO-recognized royal music, a performance by French art ensemble Carabosse, and a second “Oriental Night”.

The Hue Festival is held every two years to honour unique cultural and historical values of Hue, Vietnam and Asia through artistic shows.

This year’s festival, the eighth of its kind, has a theme of “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”, and is forming part of the East Asian-Latin American Cultural Exchange Forum held by Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thousands flock to enjoy vibrant Hue Festival

A series of diverse performances have been taking place at the ongoing Festival Hue 2014 – the biggest and most eclectic cultural event in the central province of Thua Thien Hue.

The “Dem Hoang Cung” (Royal Night) event, one of the highlights of the festival, took place on April 15 on an evening packed with music, dancing, games and cuisine once favoured by Hue’s royal court.

Visitors were taken back in time for some lively scenes, including a royal feast and a changing of the guard ceremony. They were also offered the chance to see historical remnants from the royal era, including the imperial autographs of the Nguyen Dynasty’s kings.

Meanwhile, a “Dem Phuong Dong” (Oriental Night) event celebrating the beauty, glamour and distinctive characteristics of many Asian countries’ costumes was held on the same evening in Thai Hoa Temple, inside the Hue Royal Palace.

Taking part were designers from 11 countries, including Japan, China, India, Mongolia and Thailand.

Earlier in the day, an Asian food festival was held in Hue’s Phu Xuan Park, featuring dishes from many regional nations, including Vietnam.

According to Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the event helped promote the host country’s culinary tradition and improved tourism links between participating nations.

The festival, which will run until April 20, has also offered performances from artistic troupes hailing from all around the world – from Japanese drum performances to Belgian stilt walking demonstrations.

More than 97,000 holiday-makers have flocked to the central province of Thua Thien-Hue for the festival, 48 percent of them from overseas (spread across 103 nations).

The number of French tourists accounted for the highest rate, with 7,263 people, followed by 6,271 from Thailand.

Tuyen Quang strives to preserve ethnic folk singing

The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang is working hard to revitalise a folk singing genre performed by the San Diu ethnic group, known as Soong co.

The unique singing style can be performed in daily activities or during wedding ceremonies and festivals. People need to be quick-minded and have a wide knowledge to create repartees when practicing the singing.

San Diu people make up some 1.4 percent (over 10,000 people) of Tuyen Quang’s population.

However, in Ninh Lai, Thien Ke and Son Nam communes, which have the highest numbers of San Diu people in the province, only a few elderly people can sing Soong co now, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

To cope with such a problem, Tuyen Quang has encouraged its localities to set up teams of local singers while collecting materials about the practice to increase its popularity.

The province has also organised regular Soong co singing programmes in its communes to nurture the custom, which it hopes to be recognised as intangible national heritage.

Director of the provincial department Nguyen Viet Thanh said Tuyen Quang is compiling a dossier to be submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism seeking the accolade.

At present, Tuyen Quang has four pieces of heritage listed as national treasures: The Then singing and Long Tong (Field Work) Festival of Tay people and the Pao dung singing and Cap sac (coming of age) ritual of Dao people.

Cultural activities mark Dien Bien Phu victory

A wide range of cultural activities have been arranged across the country to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu historical victory (May 7, 1954 – May 7, 2014).

In Hanoi, alongside an ongoing book exhibition – Dien Bien Phu Vang Mai Ban Hung Ca (Dien Bien Phu – A Forever Triumphal Song) – taking place at the Military Library on Ly Nam De street, the Publishing House People's Army recently released a 12-volume book on the same theme.

The series features articles by Vietnamese and international historians, researchers, writers and journalists.

At the Exhibition House of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, 16 Ngo Quyen street, more than 80 artists have gathered to showcase their artworks on the theme, using different materials such as paintings, graphics and sculptures.

A CD featuring 12 songs, with lyrics written by three military poets Le Nguyen, Anh Ngoc and Doan Hoai Trung and music by female composer Quynh Hop, will be released this week.

In Dien Bien, an incense-offering ceremony will be held on May 7 at the A1 Hill Martyrs Cemetery for which representatives from the provincial People's Committee; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the Ministry of National Defence; and the Ministry of Public Security will participate.

In 1954, A1 Hill played an important role in controlling the whole battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Following the ceremony, the armed forces will march at the city's stadium and other main streets.

A ceremony for naming a main street and a square in the memory of Vo Nguyen Giap – the legendary general who led the Vietnamese army to a glorious victory on May 7, 1954 – will be held on May 7, 2014.

In the evening, a special art performance titled Dien Bien Phu – Ban Hung Ca Bat Diet (Dien Bien Phu – An Immortal Triumphal Song) will be organised at the provincial Convention and Cultural Centre.